BOTH Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach drew their opening Bundesliga games of the season and meet on Saturday at the BayArena.
Monchengladbach would have been the happier of the two teams though, having held nine-in-a-row champions Bayern Munich to a draw which could have been even better had they not conceded an equaliser to Robert Lewandowski.
Gerardo Seoane's side also had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin in a match they should have won and will want their first home game to yield the three points.
Leverkusen brought in six new players this summer at the not-inconsiderable sum of £40 million, with defender Odilon Kossounou from Club Brugge costing around half that amount alone.
Monchengladbach forked out a more modest £12 million on two players and £7 million went on Austrian playmaker Hannes Wolf from RB Leipzig, with the rest on the talented left back Luca Netz from Hertha Berlin.
Leverkusen were sixth last season – two placed ahead of Saturday's rivals, so everything points to a tight encounter.
How the bookies view it
Leverkusen are favourites to get the win at 11/8 with Betway. Monchengladbach are outsiders at 2/1 with William Hill's and the draw is 11/4 with bet 365.
Recent head to heads
Leverkusen have won the last three meetings between the teams including home and away wins last term. Here's their exciting 4-3 win last season at the BayArena. There have been 15 encounters between the clubs without a draw.
Players to watch
Leverkusen star Moussa Diaby scored in the German capital last week against Union Berlin and managed to net double figures for Leverkusen last term. He is 21/10 to double his tally for the season with bet365.
Alassane Plea got Monchengladbach off to a flying start to the new Bundesliga campaign last season with an early goal against Bayern Munich. Last season he managed a decent return of 12 goals for the club and is 12/5 to score anytime with BetVictor.
Anything else catch the eye?
There appears to be very little between the sides as last season proved and it could very well be another draw. Historically, as stated, this fixture usually produces a winner, but that can't always continue and a draw looks decent value.
Monchengladbach had the fourth-worst defence in the Bundesliga last season and they could have conceded more to Bayern last week than just one. Both teams to score looks a sure-fire eventuality, but odds of around 1/2 over no value. The 4/5 for both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is at least a far better price.
This German Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach will be played on Aug 21, 2021 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Bayer Leverkusen vs Borussia Monchengladbach prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
